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One of the strategies for achieving sustainable development goals is to close the gap between environmental vulnerability and economic progress (SDGs). The significance of renewable energy in harmonizing environmental and economic conditions is becoming a touchy subject in current debates. Against this backdrop, the major objective of this paper is to assess whether economic growth and environmental sustainability can promote renewable energy consumption in the Indian economy by using ARDL and Novel Dynamic ARDL estimation techniques. The results obtained from both the methodology shows that rising efficiency in the economic growth coupled with environmental sustainability leads to an increase in renewable energy consumption. We also find, from the frequency domain causality test, that there is a unidirectional causality between renewable energy consumption and economic growth & renewable energy consumption and environmental sustainability in both the short- and long run. The former causation validating the conservation hypothesis for the Indian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability transition of electricity sectors is a matter of competition between multiple emerging renewable systems and dominant, established conventional systems. These transitions are multi-dimensional and are featured with non-linear and causal interactions between social, technical, economic and political components. Understanding the dynamic of transitions, i.e. how transitions unfold, can inform effective policy interventions. This paper aims to present a narrative-modelling approach to improve the understanding and description of transition dynamics in electricity sectors. The central ideas of the paper are: (1) the use of qualitative transition narratives helps to capture the co-evolving nature of society and technology which are simplified in modelling approaches; (2) narratives, with concepts from the sustainability transitions field, also guide the development of a model structure; and (3) computational models, in return, reproduce the complexity of transition dynamics, i.e. feedback loops, non-linearity, and time delays—the features which are impracticable to analyse with transition narratives alone. We use the historical transition of India's electricity sector to demonstrate the implementation of our proposed approach. First, an overview of the transition narratives is presented and the model structure, developed based on the narratives, is explained. Then, it is argued how the coupling of the narratives and model improves our understating of the positive impacts as well as the side-effects of stable feed-in tariffs and accelerated depreciation on the penetration levels of wind and solar electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas have been used as the major sources of energy in the recent past. However, the negative environmental impacts associated with the emission of the greenhouse gases from these conventional energy sources forced to realize the importance of renewable energy resources. At the same time, the average annual exponential rate of population growth in India needs increasing amounts of fresh-water for the basic necessities. This might result in water scarcity as the overall population in India is expected to increase to 1.60 billion by 2050. It has been forecasted that, by the year 2040, India will rank 40th in the world in terms of water scarcity. To meet the rising fresh-water demand, desalination is an intelligent and sustainable option for India, which has a very long coastline measuring 7517 km. In this paper, an attempt has been made to provide a comprehensive review of water scarcity in India and suggest a possible solution, which is implementing desalination technologies coupled with renewable resources. The paper reviews the ground water scenario in India and the global desalination market. We summarize the energy consumption in various desalination processes and provide a brief outlook of the desalination techniques in India. Apart from this, desalination using non-conventional sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy is discussed. In addition, factors affecting the environment due to desalination and the potential counter measures are presented. This review aims to provide an awareness of the projected water crisis in India, in the coming decades, and is also aimed to help the policy makers for selecting an appropriate desalination technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapidly increasing energy demand and growing concern about economic and environmental consequences call for renewable/sustainable energy technologies׳ adoption in India. Renewable/sustainable energy technologies have faced a number of constraints that have affected their rate of adoption. In this paper an attempt has been made to identify and rank the major barriers in the adoption of ‘renewable and green’ energy technologies in the Indian context. Twenty-eight barriers have been identified from an extensive literature review. These identified barriers have been categorized into seven dimensions of barriers, i.e. Economical & Financial; Market; Awareness & Information; Technical; Ecological and Geographical; Cultural & Behavioral; and Political & Government Issues. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique has been utilized for ranking of barriers to adopt renewable/sustainable technologies in the Indian context. All pair comparisons in AHP have been made based on experts’ opinions (selected from academia and industry). Sensitivity analysis has also been made to investigate the priority ranking stability of barriers to adopt renewable/sustainable technologies in the Indian context. This paper may help practitioners, regulators and academician focus their future efforts in adoption of ‘renewable/sustainable energy technologies’ in India. Further, this understanding may be helpful in framing the policies and strategies towards adoption of renewable/sustainable energy technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a quantitative assessment of Sustainable Energy Security (SES) of the energy demand sub-system for India by calculating a multidimensional SES index. The demand sub-system has been evaluated for four dimensions of SES, viz., Availability, Affordability, Efficiency and (Environmental) Acceptability using 23 selected metrics. A hierarchical structure has been used to construct indices using ‘scores’ (objective values of selected metrics), and ‘weights’ (subjective values, representing importance of each metric) which are then aggregated, to obtain a SES index. Various sectors of the energy demand sub-system are evaluated and dimensional and sectoral indices are calculated for the years 2002, 2007 and 2012. Assessment of the obtained energy indices is undertaken (separately for rural and urban residential sector) and results reveal that all (except one) sectoral indices have shown an increase during the period of assessment. The results show that from 2002 to 2012, the aggregate SES index has increased by approximately 10% which indicates a gradual improvement in the sustainability and security of the energy demand sub-system. However, the SES index is approximately 0.7 (against a desired target of 1.0), which implies that there is still a large scope for improvement in the performance of the India’s energy demand sub-system. A sensitivity analysis of various indices reveals that the SES index is relatively robust to variation in weights allotted to different dimensions and hence provides a reliable assessment of the energy demand sub-system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable biomass resource has been receiving much attention worldwide due to the depletion of raw material for fossil fuels. However, for proper and optimal exploitation of the available biomass, there is a need to quantify the district-wise availability of biomass in our Country and to prepare a zone-wise recommendation for adopting appropriate technologies for converting the biomass into biofuels. Earlier in 2007-08, TIFAC had carried out an in-depth nationwide survey on biomass generation, consumption, costing patterns and surplus availability from select agro & forest residues. Subsequently, a ‘Centre for Biofuels’ has been set up at National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science & Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram towards undertaking cutting edge research activities in bio-refinery related technologies. Six biomass feedstock were identified for their abundant availability in India. The Lignocellulosic (LC) ethanol pilot plant with a biomass processing capacity of 80 kg/ day has been completed, wherein the first phase focused on detailed laboratory scale studies for select Indian biomass. The second phase would primarily deal with the validation of laboratory scale data at pilot plant for techno-economic analysis of LC ethanol. TIFAC has recently taken up the task of mapping the current biomass availability and also to assess the technologies for their conversion to biofuel before coming up with zone-wise recommendations. TIFAC would source inputs from both secondary as well as primary research including those from GIS and remote sensing. Automated updation of biomass availability based on current data is also being planned. The paper presents TIFAC initiatives in the biofuel sector – past and present besides recapitulating the technology trend in biofuels sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy can play a strategic role in India in meeting the country’s growing energy demands, as well as combating climate change. Policymakers have recognized this potential and over the last decade have intensified their efforts towards creating a conducive regulatory and policy framework. Policy instruments such as renewable obligations, feed-in-tariffs and generation based incentives have specially aided the transformation towards large scale generation, enabling higher efficiency and lower costs of generation. However, financing has emerged as a significant barrier for sustaining the momentum gained in recent years. Given this background this paper provides an overview on the evolution of large scale generation and the consequent changes in financing requirements. It further reviews the emerging trends and barriers in the financing landscape and analyses the impact of policy performance in this context. Finally, it considers the design of a national renewable finance framework complete with targeted finance push instruments that can complement existing demand pull policies in facilitating investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extensive canal irrigation network in South Asia has developed over the past 170 years that consists of thousands of kilometers of constructed channels and distributaries. These canals cut across many energy-poor regions along their paths. In India, this canal network provides a unique opportunity for renewable energy generation that is yet to be realized. Existing technologies for energy generation on canals include small hydropower on canal falls and, recently, canal-top solar panels. In addition, opportunities for hydrokinetic generation in irrigation canals have received limited attention. This paper develops a novel canal-network level framework for energy planning that integrates generation with local energy needs in a canal-corridor. This framework for integrated spatial assessment analyzes the supply of renewable energy generation potential and the demand of unmet energy needs in a canal-corridor, using the Upper Ganga Canal in Uttar Pradesh, India as a case study. We consider the theoretical and technological potential of hydropower and solar power generation and develop three indices to assess the agricultural, domestic, and composite unmet power demand of the canal-corridor. Our results show an overall theoretical potential of 149.1 MW and 13,213 MW for small hydropower and solar power, respectively, which could more than help meet the current 18 hours per day electricity service standard in Uttar Pradesh. The framework uses standardized irrigation and census datasets and therefore is generalizable for canal networks across India and South Asia more broadly. • Irrigation canal energy technologies include small hydro and canal-top solar power. • Novel canal-network level framework for energy planning. • Integration of generation potential with local energy needs in a canal corridor. • Theoretical and technological potential of energy generation on canals. • Three indices for agricultural, domestic, and composite unmet power demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following India's efforts to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases, there has been a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources, such as solar and wind, in the energy portfolio. The renewable energy sector is widely acknowledged as a fertile ground for employment creation, as it is labour-intensive. Against this backdrop, the main objective of this paper is to provide an empirical explanation of how the growth of renewable energy sources, particularly solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, affects employment creation in India. The findings reveal that, despite a substantial investment in India's solar PV technology, the number of jobs created by the sector declined marginally from 164000 in 2017–114000 in 2018. India's estimated employment elasticity is just 0.004, implying that the level of employment does not show a significant positive response to changes in installed capacity. Almost 60 per cent of the global solar PV workforce is in China, which has become the leading country both in terms of installed capacity of global solar PV technology and manufacturing of solar PV cells and modules. The wide disparity in solar PV employment between India and China is explained by the former's excessive dependence on China for solar PV cells. Alongside climate conservation, India should, therefore, place more emphasis on revitalising the domestic solar manufacturing industry to bring about efficient use of the nation's untapped resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]